Chapter 18 Section 4 Dragon Boat Race

Every year on the Dragon Boat Festival on May 5th of the lunar calendar, there is a custom of holding dragon boat races in various parts of southern my country, commonly known as "Dragon Boat Race" or "Dragon Boat Race".This custom is still popular in 15 provinces and regions in my country.Some scholars have studied the local chronicles of various places and found that there are 227 local chronicles in 12 provinces and regions with records of racing, of which more than 100 are related to Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan and other places.Dragon boat racing is a very popular sports and entertainment activity in ancient my country. From the Pearl River and Minjiang River in the south to the Yellow River Basin in the north, people can see lively scenes of dragon boats playing in the water everywhere.

The dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival is closely related to Qu Yuan, a famous patriot in the history of our country.Qu Yuan was a doctor who was loyal to the motherland in the state of Chu during the Warring States period. Because of his outspokenness, he refused to join forces with the corrupt officials in the court, so he was exiled to the Mi [mi honey] Luo River.In February 278 BC, Bai Qi, a general of the state of Qin, led his troops into Yingdu, the capital of the state of Chu. Qu Yuan was distraught. He couldn't bear to see his motherland destroyed by the state of Qin. Miluo River, died for the country.After hearing the news, the local fishermen rushed to rescue him by rowing boats. This kind of activity has been carried on and gradually became a custom ("Continued Qi Harmony" by Liang Wujun in the Southern Dynasties).Every year at this time, people gather by the river and lake to hold boat races to commemorate this great patriot.In addition to this legend, which is widely circulated today and well-known to women and children, there are many theories about the origin of dragon boat racing.For example, some say it is to commemorate Wu Zixu of Wu State ("Cao'e Stele"); It is said to commemorate an old man who killed Qinglong; some say it commemorates Yan Hongfu, a hero of the Dai nationality.Mr. Wen Yiduo believed in his "Dragon Boat Festival" that it may have originated from prehistoric totem sacrifices, which is agreed by many scholars.Although there are many different theories about the origin of the race, there is one thing in common, that is, the word "dragon" is inseparable from the race everywhere.This also shows that the Chinese nation, as a big family, is indeed worthy of the name of the world as the descendants of the dragon.The dragon is an important symbol of Chinese culture.In an agricultural society that depends on the weather for food, the most important thing is that the weather is good.Therefore, the dragon with the ability to call the wind and rain and make waves has naturally become the object of people's worship.Since ancient times, dragons have represented majesty and strength, and can protect people from disasters.Dragon boats appeared very early in our country. At least in the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a record of Zhou Tianzi riding a dragon boat ("Mu Tianzi Biography").In the Han Dynasty, there was also a case of making a dragon boat from thick paulownia wood.Because dragons have such supernatural powers, people believe that dressing up a boat in the image of a dragon will subdue the monsters and ghosts in the water, and the boat will be safe and sound.The ancient Wuyue people who lived by the sea also used to paint their bodies with splendid dragon scales when they entered the water, and dressed themselves up as dragons to prevent the water god from causing trouble ("Shuo Yuan · Envoy").

In addition to the commemorative significance of the race, we should also note that the time for this event is the slack season after the intense rice planting in the south.Using this kind of vigorous entertainment to relax the body and mind and restore energy shows that the working people in ancient my country will not only work hard, but also live happily. Dragon boat races were only held in some areas in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River at first, and gradually expanded to other places after the Eastern Han Dynasty. It became a nationwide seasonal activity in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and it had already reached a considerable scale in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.During the competition, the shore was crowded with spectators, and the sound of cheers, chants, gongs and drums rang together, and the sound shook the sky ("Sui Shu·Geography").In the dragon boat races of the Tang Dynasty, championships were set up, that is, a bamboo pole was erected at the finish line, and a brocade color was hung on the top of the pole. Winning the brocade color was called winning the championship.This makes dragon boat racing a fiercely contested and exciting sporting event."Song of Race" by Zhang Jianfeng of the Tang Dynasty gave us a vivid picture of the dragon boat race: "The red flag is raised three times with the sound of the drum, and two dragons jump out of the floating water; Thunder; the sound of the drums is getting closer and closer, and the two dragons look at the headings like a flash; people on the slope are startled by thunderbolts, and the rainbows are hung on the top of the pole." ("Full Tang Poetry·Zhang Jianfeng")

After the Tang Dynasty, in some areas in northern my country, especially the capitals where the emperor lived, such as Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, Bianliang in the Song Dynasty, and Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, dragon boat racing became an important part of the Dragon Boat Festival in May. It has become a large-scale performance watched by the royal family and nobles.The dragon boat race in the capital city of the Song Dynasty was one of a series of water programs performed by water troops in the Jinming Pool in Bianliang City.At that time, there was a large dragon boat with a length of three to forty feet and a width of three to four feet, which was only for viewing.In order to prevent this behemoth from capsizing, there is a large iron disc at the bottom of the boat as a storehouse.All the small boats dragged this big and useless guy out of the cabin, like stars holding the moon, formed a fleet, and rowed to the water palace where the emperor came.Then small dragon boats, tiger-head boats, flying fish boats and loach boats line up to perform performances in various formations, such as "Xuanluo" in a large circle, "Sea Eye" in a small circle and boats. The "Jiaotou" of cross-meeting.Finally, as the finale, the fleet's championship competition took place.The boats are lined up in the east and west of the water hall, and a bamboo pole is inserted in the water in front of the hall, and there is a brocade silver bowl hanging on it, which is called "benchmark".I saw the commanding flag waved, and the gongs and drums blared, and the boats flew like flying. Each type of fleet competed three times, and the one who won the benchmark was the winner ("Tokyo Menghualu").

Compared with the flashy official dragon boat races, the folk dragon boat races maintain more of a simple local flavor and a mysterious sacrificial color, such as the Dragon Boat Festival of the Miao people in the Qingshui River Basin in southeastern Guizhou.The Dragon Boat Festival here is generally held in the late May of the lunar calendar. Every year at this time, there are many antique dragon boats in the depths of the Qingjiang River.Xu Jiaqian of the Qing Dynasty recorded: "The boat is made of big whole wood, five or six feet long, with a dragon head in front and a phoenix tail in the back, and can accommodate 20 to 30 people in the middle. "Miaojiang Wenjianlu") "Zhenyuan Fuzhi" also records: "Qingjiang Miao people performed dragon boat opera on May 25th. It is about four or five feet long, and they are all standing up and paddling, which is extremely dangerous."

The dragon boats used by the Miao people for competitions are made of three tall fir or paulownia dug canoes bundled together. The middle one is about 25 meters long and is called the mother boat, and the two sides are about 15 meters long and are called sub-boats.The bow of the big mother ship is decorated with a large dragon head as tall as a person. The dragon head is carved out of willow wood. There is a pair of thick wooden buffalo horns on the head. Hang on the dragon's whiskers or put on the mother ship.There is a socket at the stern of the mother ship, and a bunch of thatch or straw is inserted, which is the "phoenix tail".The commander of the dragon boat is the drum master who is a respected person in the village.Under the command of the drum master, the gong players, helmsmen, pole players and sailors perform their duties and do their best.During the Dragon Boat Festival, all Miao villages along the river will race their own dragon boats in the Qingshui River. Before the dragon boat race, the rice seedlings must be planted, otherwise they will be looked down upon by others. In addition, people who have small conflicts have to shake hands as soon as they get on the dragon boat. Harmony, so the dragon boat race also plays a social role in adjusting the relationship between neighbors and enhancing the friendship of villagers.In addition to dragon boat races, there are also bullfights, horse races, bird fights, dances and antiphonal songs.

Since dragon boat racing is a sport to entertain the gods, there are a series of solemn sacrificial ceremonies.Before the dragon boat is launched into the water, the dragon head must be installed, and the wizard presides over a grand sacrificial ceremony, and buys wine, meat, and incense tables to worship the mountain gods, river gods, and protection gods.The wizard kills a white rooster, cuts off one of the chicken's wings and puts it on the horse mulberry tree beside the incense table, in order to pray for "Gaha" (protector god) to bless the safety of the dragon boat.Then, the wizard will "make divination" to see if it is suitable for entering the water. If the hexagram is unlucky, it means that the gods have not yet approved it, so continue to make divination until auspicious divination appears.There are also various taboos strictly observed by the villagers in the dragon boat race. For example, sailors cannot tie up their trousers, and they cannot use chopsticks to eat in the dragon boat. Wash rice water, do not stir in the pot when cooking meat, women are not allowed to board the boat, etc.

Probably due to the unique charm of the unique dragon culture of dragon boat racing, after thousands of years of vicissitudes, this event has not only not declined, but has aroused people's greater interest. It was held in Yueyang, Hunan, my country in June 1995. The first World Dragon Boat Championships was held, and the ancient dragon boat is going to the world.